Battle in Homs, the army controls Baba Amr
London withdraws its diplomatic staff

BEIRUT – In an ever-increasing sign of concern, Britain withdrew all diplomatic personnel from Syria and suspended all activities at the embassy for security reasons, although it will not interrupt diplomatic relations with Damascus. “We judge that the deterioration of the situation in Damascus puts our personnel at the embassy and at the same site at risk,” Foreign Minister William Hague said. This while the situation on the ground gets worse and the Security Council of the
The United Nations has expressed its disappointment that the UN humanitarian aid officer, Valerie Amos, has not yet been granted access to Syria, and has therefore urged the authorities of Damascus to provide. The Fifteen have requested immediate, full and free access for humanitarian workers to guarantee assistance to the population, and have called on the Syrian government to cooperate fully with the UN and other humanitarian organizations to allow the evacuation of wounded from the areas affected.

(01 March 2012)